In the last ten years, new technologies have revolutionized the debt collection industry, broadening the cope of operations from local and regional to national, and sometimes even to international. Technological innovation has facilitated the creation of very large, full-service debt collection operations, while simultaneously enabling smaller, niche-focused collection to become profitable.
Automated dialing and interactive voice recording also have made debt collectors’ calling campaigns substantially more efficient. The biggest change is now pervasive use of predictive dialers, which are now used by the vast majority of collections agencies.
Predictive dialers are automated computer systems that determine the number of calls to make based on the time of day, the number of collectors logged on to the system, and the average length of time collectors speak with consumers. At core, these dialers allow debt collectors to be vastly more efficient, because they eliminate the time spent dialing and waiting for a consumer to answer.
Call recording technologies also have emerged, making it possible for collectors to preserve every collection call. Debt collection supervisors may review the calls of their collectors.
In essence, the collections industry has become incredibly efficient. The automated dial calls that you are receiving are not random at all, but are built on fairly advanced statistical models. The problem is that you can no longer count on a collection being more trouble than it’s worth because with automated systems, collection efforts are no trouble at all.
If you are receiving automated calls or you are wondering where you are situated on the debt collection continuum, contact our offices and set up a consultation. If your schedule does not currently allow you to come to our Salem or Portland office, give me a call and we can talk it through.
